June 29, 2010

New Kirk TV ads attack Giannoulias on Broadway Bank, BP

A day after he again publicly apologized for embellishing aspects of his military record, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk is unleashing a pair of new TV commercials that take aim at his Democratic opponent’s record.

One attacks Democratic state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ age and his work history at his family’s now-failed Broadway Bank. The other ad attempts to link Giannoulias to being on the wrong side of the debate over the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The ads will begin airing on broadcast and cable stations in the Chicago region on Wednesday, according to Kirk’s campaign. They are expected to run for at least two weeks.

In the first commercial, titled “Risky,” Kirk’s campaign shows a picture of a young-looking Giannoulias and then notes he is 34 years old. It then goes on to describe controversial loans Broadway Bank made to men with ties to organized crime while Giannoulias worked there, showing black-and-white pictures of the loan recipients. It also criticizes Giannoulias’ performance as treasurer when a college savings program run by the office lost $73 million.

“Alexi Giannoulias: Trust him with your money?” the announcer asks.

The other ad, “Stand,” attempts to contrast Kirk and Giannoulias’ records on issues connected to the BP oil spill.

It states Kirk “won praise for helping stop BP when it tried to pollute Lake Michigan,” while a top Giannoulias political adviser used to be registered as a lobbyist for BP in the city of Chicago.

Giannoulias also has tried to make the oil spill a campaign issue, detailing a policy initiative he says will prevent similar spills from occurring again. He's also regularly reminded voters on the campaign trail that the Sierra Club endorsed him over Kirk.

Kirk is taking to the airwaves to attack his opponent after a month of tough hits for his statements over the years about his career in the Navy reserves. Up until the stumble over his resume, Kirk had been enjoying a relatively easy run with attention mostly focused on Giannoulias and the federal takeover of Broadway Bank, which occurred in late April. The ads are an effort by the Kirk campaign to shift the focus back on Giannoulias.

Comments

Maybe Kirk's next ad can show how in Iraq he single-handedly captured Sadam Husain, while saving an entire military brigade by throwing himself on a grenade as he took out a tank at point blank range with a bazooka that he captured from a terrorist while simultaneously killing hundreds of Taliban in Afghanistan before he went on to teach their children about democracy. Who wouldn't believe that?

I'd rather have a guy who exagerated, and which man hasn't, than to have a golden spooned kid whose family filtered off 70 million of the publics money, bankrupted a bank, and helped to destroy the college program so many people depended on for their kids future college.

And don't forget Giannoulias' mismanagement of the Bright Start Funds! Many people, including myself, lost our child's college funds only to receive a small part of it back! Do not trust Giannoulias with your money!

So tired of politicians trying to make their opponents look bad. How about telling me what you can do for the state of Illinois and why you're the right choice instead of why the other guy is the wrong choice. This goes for ALL pols not just Kirk.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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